LIFESTYLE | Coloane: Living on the greener isle

Georgia Creeden

When Georgia Creeden first laid eyes on Coloane back in the 1990s, “green” was the word that first came to mind. Here, it’s really all about nature. “The moment you would get off the causeway, which is now the Cotai Strip, the minute you arrived at that point, it was all green. It’s still all green. To me, this always felt good. Still does,” she recalled.
After developing a manufacturing business in China and living in Hong Kong for five years, Georgia Creeden moved to Macau in 1997. After spending two years on Macau’s other island, Taipa, she was looking to find a place that exuded a similar feel to her hometown. “In 1999, I moved to Hac Sa Beach, where I am now. I moved there because my hometown is on the coast of New Hampshire and I am accustomed to the water, the beach. Green, lots of green and healthy things,” she recollected.
At the time, apartments were larger and prices more affordable. “A couple of years later, when everyone still considered the prices to be high, we bought a flat. But comparing [the prices] to now is laughable,” she said.
When Georgia moved to Coloane, to the Hellen Garden building, she was frequently travelling back and forth to China. “My business involves manufacturing clothing in Asia. But it was primarily China and Vietnam, so Macau was great for wherever I had to go,” she recalls.
Commuting frequently to China back then, Georgia would use the Hengqin Island or the Zhuhai border. “It was crucial to coordinate timing in order to attend my appointments on the other side.” The hurdles of commuting weren’t drastic, and travelling back and forth seemed feasible. Today, however, the scenario would probably not be as bright. “Nowadays, I don’t know how I would be able to do that, because transportation is very different from the way it was.”
Taxis are hard to get, especially when returning home after a night out. Indeed, when Georgia thinks about what has changed the most in Coloane since then, transportation is one of the most obvious answers. “To get from Hac Sa to Taipa, it’s not unusual [for it] to take one hour” if traffic is too chaotic.
Another hurdle is the lack of supermarkets. Apart from grocery shops in the village, and a recent supermarket opening in the Seac Pai Van building complex, expats living in Coloane shop primarily in either Macau or Taipa.
“The shops are great for vegetables and fruit, and prices are good. But for anything else, meat, fish, anything else, you have to go to Taipa.”

Katrien Scott

The island, and small, picturesque Coloane village in particular, is known for its ageing population, many of whom worked as fishermen back when Coloane was a thriving fishing port, with boats queuing up along the island’s coast.
Others worked as salted fish traders. Some still own small restaurants and grocery shops, giving the island its unique and charming look.
The European-style houses along the village, the stilt houses on the water, and even the South China Sea views have attracted many expats in recent years, who have flocked to Macau as the city grew into an entertainment and gambling hub, but still wished to remain as close to nature as possible.
Looking back, Coloane was a good choice for Georgia. “I love it. I dread the day we might leave, because I am right on the beach, a few steps away from the sea.”
Still, there are problems to be solved. Despite Coloane’s reputation as the greener island, pollution remains an issue. Waste materials, likely originating from factories within the Pearl River Delta region, often wash up on the shore.
“We see debris in the beach, shoes, clearly it’s coming from factories, lot’s of syringes. Who’s dumping it in the river?” Georgia questioned.
When thinking of the future, she hopes Coloane’s charm will not fade as new developments emerge. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it changes a lot. When I moved to Macau, Portuguese people would say that Coloane ‘is the lungs of Macau.’ They use this term, which is strange, but I understand. It’s like it can’t be changed. But it has changed. And it bothers me.”
She fears that if new developments take shape, the atmosphere will no longer be the same. “It will no longer be this charming village. You can’t build history.”
Katrien Scott, who also lives in Hellen Garden in Hac Sa Beach, shares a similar opinion. New developments, she said, would ruin Coloane. “It would be devastating if they knock down something and build a casino. Macau needs different places too, and the village will not be the same if it’s packed with high-rise buildings. I am sure other people feel the same.”

Oyuna and John Altizer

Coloane has managed to remain one of the most peaceful places in Macau. It is one of the most untouched areas, currently spared from large-scale developments mushrooming around the Peninsula and Taipa.
Born in the Netherlands, Katrien previously lived in cities such as Amsterdam and Glasgow. When she moved to Macau with her husband in 2008, they felt it was time for a change and settled outside the city center.
“We felt the happiest here,” she said, despite having considered settling in Taipa too. “I can hear the sea in the morning and pretend the air is totally fresh,” she laughed.
With three children, Hac Sa seemed an even more appropriate location. “To me, [it] is the best place, especially for three hyperactive boys who want to be outside all the time,” she acknowledged.
Most families living there appreciate the fact that children can play outside without worrying about being hit by a car. With a park and a beach nearby, it’s also easier to find different activities to do on weekends.
“It seems more like a village, instead of having a city feel. And we are so close by. I’m often quicker at school than friends who live elsewhere, because they have to go through all the traffic,” Katrien recalled.
Although people may think Coloane is too distant from everything else in Macau, and coming all the way from Hac Sa seems a bit of a nightmare, Katrien suggests otherwise. Her children attend The International School (TIS) in Taipa, and she says that by leaving a little bit before 8:00a.m. everyday, she arrives at the school within a few minutes.
“A lot of people have that image that it’s really far away but it’s not far away at all. And there’s hardly any traffic, only that traffic that comes from Ka Ho village, where the docks and cement factory are. I try to avoid trucks by leaving a bit earlier in the morning,” she explained.
Living anywhere else in Macau does not appeal to her. She likes to see the colour green every day. Life seems brighter among the sea, hills, and trails.
It gets busier on weekends, she noted, as more tourists visit Coloane. “There are more tourists but that’s why we are all here, because of the tourism and Macau’s expansion. And we’re helping.”
One the greatest hurdles, along with difficulties in getting taxis, is related to rising rental prices. Like on the Macau peninsula and Taipa, residents in Coloane also complain of skyrocketing prices. “We are now paying double the amount we paid in 2008, although we live in a bigger apartment. What people are saying is that when Oasis opens [next to Seac Pai Van park], people think they can ask the same prices here in Hellen Garden, which is an older building,” she stated.
Katrien hopes they can carry on living in Coloane even if prices go up. “It’s still cheaper than Taipa, although you can find less expensive [residences] in the Macau peninsula,” she added.
Like Georgia, Katrien also thinks that a supermarket would make a difference in Coloane. A lack of parking is also a hurdle, particularly in Coloane village. “Parking here is a big problem. It’s better to use the bus when you want to come to the village,” she added.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, away from its casinos and hotels, its piping horns, Katrien feels isolated in a good way. “It’s nice to get away from everything.”
The same quietness and a view of the South China Sea also convinced Oyuna Delegsuren and John W. Altizer to move to Coloane about eight years ago. John, an American national, and Oyuna, from Mongolia, were living in Sai Kung, Hong Kong.
John travels to China every week for work, and part of the reason why they moved to Macau was to make his commute a bit easier. “The company I worked for had just opened an office here. So it worked (…) The Lotus Bridge was custom-made for me, because I commute every day to China (…) the Hengqin border has no waiting line, and makes commuting really easy, unless it’s a holiday.”
Moving from Hong Kong, property rental prices seemed more reasonable in Macau. Getting their children into school was simpler, too.
“Our oldest son was in the 7th grade and he goes to TIS. Hearing a school saying ‘no problem, we can take him’ after living in Hong Kong, where is difficult to get children into a school, we almost fell off the chair, because there it’s a big hurdle,” John recalled.
Having settled in one of the villas facing the South China Sea, near Cheoc Van Beach, the couple says what sets it apart from other places they have lived is the silence. “Just listen… you hear nothing, and I don’t know if there are other places in Macau where you can get that,” John said.
Oyuna also likes the fact that Coloane is a mixture of cultures. “If you go to Coloane village, we find so many different cultures. It’s Western, Portuguese, Macanese, Chinese, I really like it here.”
Besides a supermarket, the lack of a hospital is another concern for Oyuna. “There’s a clinic in the village, but there’s no emergency service there.”
She also said that house prices, either to sell or rent, have gone up exponentially.
“Just like everywhere else, there are insane demands on rental property, although [these villas] are 60 percent empty. I think now it’s because of the prices,” John added.
With three children, Coloane still feels like the right place. “We are very happy here,” says Oyuna. When describing it to friends, John says he is a little sarcastic: “I say we live all the way out in Coloane, all the way out. I could sell real estate,” he laughed, before adding, “It’s fantastic, we live overlooking the South China Sea. What more could we ask for? It’s a very tranquil country set within a city. It’s pretty cool!”